Five key tips for getting the most from AI

Luke Meredith

Have you tried using artificial intelligence (AI) to write something, with what you think is a simple request, only to get back a wall of useless, generic text?

Unfortunately, the problem might be you rather than the AI. The skill of extracting useful results from AI through good prompting is known as prompt engineering. In this blog, we’ll go through a few tips and pieces of knowledge you need to know before you start using AI to its full potential for your purposes.

Rubbish in, rubbish out

AI is little more than a very powerful, very literal engine that runs on your instructions.

If you give it a vague, lazy prompt, you will get a vague, lazy answer. You need to be specific and tell it exactly what you want.

Give AI a job to do

Before you tell the AI what to do, tell it who to be.

Start your prompt with a role. “Act as an expert car mechanic.” “Act as a direct-response copywriter.” “You are a solicitor specialising in property law.”

This simple step focuses the AI. It tells it which part of its massive database to use. It sets the tone and style, which is crucial.

Be brutally specific

Now tell it what to do, and don’t be shy about the details.

“Write about our new accounting service” is a terrible prompt. What will you get? Junk.

Try this instead: “Write a 300-word email to a potential client. The client is a small business owner who is worried about their cash flow. Explain how our ‘Virtual FD’ service can give them clarity and save them money.”

See the difference? You’ve given it a task, a target audience and a goal.

Tell it what format you want

How do you want the answer presented?

If you don’t specify, the AI will just guess, so you need to take control.

End your prompt with the format. “Format this as a professional email.” “Write this as a short, punchy blog post.” “Present this as a script for a two-minute video.”

Tell it exactly what the final product should look like.

Master your prompts for the best results

Getting good results from AI isn’t some dark art. More than anything else, it’s about giving clear instructions.

Think of it like hiring a new, very fast, very junior employee. They know a lot, but they have zero common sense. You have to spell everything out for them.

If you can give it a role and a specific task, while telling it what format to use, your chances of success will skyrocket.

Here at Engage Web, we’ve provided some highly useful resources about using AI to its full potential over on our subscription marketing service EngageWeb.Club. To get the full benefits of our insight, sign up to EngageWeb.Club today.

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Luke Meredith

Content Editor at Engage Web

At home in both the digital sector and the world of communications, Luke thrives on deadlines and has held roles in healthcare, retail and digital marketing, gaining a sound knowledge of a wide range of sectors. He’s a massive swot as well, holding a first-class degree in BA Communication and Media, and now uses his writing skills and keen editorial eye in his role as Content Editor here. Luke helps to oversee our clients’ content requirements, while also looking after a pool of freelance writers across three continents.